Browsed byCategory: Riparian Activities

by Amy Martin Oh no! Not again! Not that tree, not our tree, our beloved “Indian marker tree,” our landmark, our friend. The landmark leaning tree on Peavy just past Lake Highlands in the Dixon Branch greenbelt. For decades Eastlake residents have taken family pictures perched on the tree’s horizontal trunk. People picnic there. Small children adore it; after all, it’s at their level. Photo by Velpeau E Hawes Jr. And now it’s almost all gone. Remaining photos by Amy…

The wonderful folks at Spring Creek Forest Preserve offered Eastwood Riparian the chance to dig up native roughleaf dogwood and coralberry shrubs from an area the Garland park department was planning to mow. Many thanks to Dana Wilson and David Parrish of Spring Creek for setting up this exchange. A couple weeks ago, Eastwood Riparian cleared much invasive privet and ligustrum from Playground Park by the picnic table. These two native plants will now flourish there instead, providing better erosion control…

Left on its own, Chinese privet and ligustrum would swallow the entire Playground Park. It was encroaching on the picnic table rise, making for a cramped and shadowy place. Working with chainsaws and an awesome tool called the Bigfoot Extractigator on loan from Friends of Spring Creek Forest, the Eastwood Riparian Committee whupped up on it. The problem was not helped by a large tree which fell last fall. However, it did create some terrific wildlife habitat and woodpecker…